Patrick Rishe
, ContributorI cover the economics of the sports industry.Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

My colleagues here at Forbes recently published the 2014 NFL franchise values. And in the process of preparing for an interview with the NFL Network to discuss the rankings, I put together the following table which compares the median values among the 8 highest-valued and 8 lowest-valued NFL teams across a variety of categories:

Category

Top 8

Bottom 8

FranValue

$1.975 B

$968 M

Revenue

$346 M

$256 M

Income

$95.1 M

$39.0 M

Popl Rank

4.5th

18th

Stad Age

11.5 yrs

30 yrs

SB Champ

2

0

SB App

3.5

1.5

The comparison is noteworthy for these reasons:

1) Stadiums are nearly three times older for the least valued teams

This matters because newer stadiums have more luxury suites, more premium seating, more space designed for corporate signage, more strategically placed locations in the concourse to sell merchandise and concessions, etc... In short, newer stadiums generate more revenue...and greater revenue-potential boosts franchise values.

2) The 8 highest-valued teams have greater historical success than the bottom 8.

At the median, the top 8 teams have won 2 and appeared in 3.5 Super Bowls. Conversely, the median experience for the bottom 8 is no Super Bowl victories and 1.5 appearances in the big game. This historical success plays a major role when it comes to branding. Greater brand appeal yields greater revenue-generating ability, and hence, greater franchise value.

3) The median population rank of the 8 highest-valued teams is 4.5, compared to 18th for the bottom 8.

This is an interesting one. Because of the massive revenue sharing that takes place in the NFL, and because most media revenue is earned at the national level and not locally, these facts alone would minimize the importance of market size. However, being located in a larger market increases the odds of having more competition for advertising, corporate signage, naming rights, and ultimately, a buyer for the franchise. On the last note, for example, let's be clear that Steve Ballmer would not have paid $2 billion for the Los Angeles Clippers were they still in San Diego...or Buffalo for that matter.

So when we look at the 2014 NFL valuation list to explain each team's story, the factors raised above explain a good chunk of what's going on. For example:

- Though the Dallas Cowboys have not won a playoff game since the 1995 Super Bowl and have missed the playoffs in 11 of 18 years since then, they have appeared in 8 Super Bowls (winning 5), they have arguably the finest sports facility in the country in AT&T Stadium, and they are among the countries largest MSAs. Subsequently, there are many Fortune 500 companies in the North Texas area, and it's a football-crazed state to begin with which only fuels the fire.

- Though the Houston Texans have no past Super Bowl glory and have not been the most successful squad on the field, they have a relatively new stadium and they also are among the largest MSAs in football. The NY Jets similarly have had little historical success apart from winning Super Bowl III, but like the Texans, new stadium and large market.

- In other cases, historical success trumps market size to an extent. For example, Denver, Indianapolis, Green Bay and Pittsburgh rank 11th through 14th in franchise value...all above the median. But rank 17th, 29th, 33th (if you use Milwaukee to proxy as Green Bay's MSA), and 23th respectively in terms of MSA population rank. For these franchises, their "value rank" exceeds their market size largely because of historical success...which in turn breeds a high-caliber brand. Pittsburgh has won the most Super Bowls (6), Green Bay has won 4 and is arguably the most iconic franchise dating back to Vince Lombardi, Denver has won 2 but has been a relatively competitive team for decades, and Indianapolis has 1 Super Bowl victory. In Indy's case, they won the most regular season games during Peyton Manning's tenure as their quarterback...which eventually led to the construction of Lucas Oil Stadium. I've been inside of this facility as well as AT&T Stadium, and they are both equally impressive visually and in terms of generating revenue for their franchise.

Of course, if any of these four franchises were also a Top 10 MSA, their franchise value would ascend.

On the tail end of the spectrum, facility issues are the biggest reason why St Louis, Jacksonville, Oakland, Buffalo, and San Diego are where they are. And why those teams are the ones most talked about should the Los Angeles market finally build a new stadium to lure a team(s).

For the other 3 teams in the bottom 8 (Detroit, Arizona, Cincinnati), the newness of their stadiums is not the issue. One thing all 3 teams share is a lack of historical success. In Detroit's case, local economic considerations certainly do not help matters despite Detroit being the 12th largest MSA. Conversely, market size does not help Cincinnati (32nd). And in Arizona's case, despite having a fantastic facility and the 13th largest market, they have limited history in the Phoenix area. That, coupled with an abysmal history on the field (3 postseason trips with 1 Super Bowl appearance in 26 years), explain their place among the league's lowest franchise values.